From 1995-2020 he served as president of Ensign Peak Advisors, Inc., an investment management affiliate of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Clarke, Roger G and de Silva, Harindra and Thorley, Steven, Fundamentals of Efficient Factor Investing (October 11, 2016). If Jesus does come back, I can't wait to see his reaction when the leaders of the church that claims to speak exclusively for him explain that they hoarded all of the cash they could instead of helping the very people they are commanded to help in the very Bible they (incorrectly) use as justification for collecting tithing from their members in the first place. And while we can point to a laundry list of items that show this church is not true, this is a big reason you know that the church is not good. Grald Causs is the church's Presiding Bishop who oversees church finances, including EP. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. Combining long-only-constrained factor sub-portfolios is generally not a mean-variance-efficient way to capture expected factor returns. [5] History [ edit] Ensign Peak Advisors, Analytic Investors, Inc. and BYU Marriott School of Business. Note: ReligionUnplugged.com will update this story with responses from relevant parties. You can Google patriarchal blessings about seeing Jesus before you die and read them, which is yet another example of why this church has no more connection to the divine (or revelation/discernment) than anyone else. In a complaint filed with the IRS, Nielsen accused Ensign of taking in billions from members tithes and other donations and not spending any of it over a 22-year period for charitable purposes. . Roger received a PhD in finance and an MS degree in economics from Stanford University, as well as an MBA and BA degree in physics from Brigham Young University. Leaders of EPA declined to comment in the original stories at ReligionUnplugged.com. The Not-So-Well-Known Three-and-One-Half Factor Model. "That same poverty continues from one generation to another, until people pay their tithing." Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. Analytic Investors, Inc. Steven Thorley. Shortly afterward, Ensign Peak sold it all, judging from its absence in recent reports. Clarke did not respond to an email . A judge could issue a ruling any day in that appellate case. Roger Clarke, the head of Ensign Peak Advisors, and members of the church's Presiding Bishopric sat for interviews with the Journal for the story. From the church's manual on honesty: "When we speak untruths, we are guilty of lying. Ensign Peak has since made what amounts to a stunning series of quarterly reports to federal authorities on the portion of the Utah-based faiths overall holdings it manages, not least for the portfolios sheer size. Just last year, Prophet Russell M. Nelson did a worldwide speaking tour where he told members in Africa that only paying tithing can get them out of the cycle of poverty. And please email us if you disagree with our post - we welcome all comments! The new document alleges several new violations by EPA and its leaders. The investment activity has been the subject of some curiosity as to how an otherwise low-profile religious organization can amass such a massive portfolio. Its initial filing revealed EPA had $38 billion in stocks and mutual fundsat the end of 2019, including $1.5 billion in Apple and Microsoft. Suggested Citation, 60 East South Temple4th FloorSalt Lake City, UT 84111United States, 555 West 5th Street50th FloorLos Angeles, CA 90013United States213-688-3015 (Phone)213-688-8856 (Fax), 616 TNRBBrigham Young UniversityProvo, UT 84602United States801-378-6065 (Phone)801-378-5984 (Fax), Mutual Funds, Hedge Funds, & Investment Industry eJournal, Subscribe to this fee journal for more curated articles on this topic, Capital Markets: Market Efficiency eJournal, Econometric Modeling: Capital Markets - Portfolio Theory eJournal, We use cookies to help provide and enhance our service and tailor content. Ensign Peak is a huge investor in iconic technology stocks. Reports reveal the big stakes in tech are part of a vast hands-on market strategy by Ensign Peak, with upward of 1,850 different stocks at times, spread across virtually every part of the U.S. economy and abroad. The financial acumen of the church and its members, often referred to as Mormons, is a significant attribute of a distinctly American religious minority that recently celebrated its bicentennial a 200-year history that includes persecution, resilience and ambition. Over many years, a portion is methodically safeguarded through wise financial management and the building of a prudent reserve for the future., The Wall Street Journal, which didnt cover the story until February 2020,made a unique contributionby visiting Salt Lake City and interviewing leaders of EPA and the church who confirmed the previous reporting ofReligionUnpluggedandthe Post. The document says Nielsen left a financially lucrative career to work for EPA because he believed it was a worthy cause and organization. Editors note This story is available to Salt Lake Tribune subscribers only. Unlike the Corporation, Mr. Huntsman is confident that these charities will actually use his donations for their intended purposes.. The SEC alleges that from 1997 through 2019 Ensign Peak failed to file 13F forms, which are documents that certain investment managers must disclose quarterly, listing the securities that they manage. But when Clarke says the gains are "mainly from returns on existing investments," he is being careful not to say that those "existing investments" were made with tithing money. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider Ensign Peak Advisors employs 11 employees. Analytic Investors, Inc. Steven Thorley. "This settlement relates to how the forms were filed previously. The head of EPA, Roger Clarke, indicated to the Journal that EPA is a . It noted that the whistleblower report and media reporting on it heaped pressure on the church to be more transparent about its finances, something the church has avoided for decades.. Professor Thorley is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), a Co-Editor of theFinancial Analysts Journal, and on the investment committees for Intermountain Healthcare and Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators. Court documents in the Huntsman lawsuit have called it a hedge fund which holds in excess of $128 billion.. A federal judge recently tossed out the lawsuit, but Huntsmans lawyers plan to appeal. Other former employees said the firms war chest related to preparation for the second coming of Jesus Christ. Put another way, the man who claims to be the lone prophet of God on this Earth is telling people in the poorest areas of the Earth that without giving the church (worth $124 billion in this one investment fund alone) 10% of their income they not only will never get out of poverty, but they will be denied exaltation for eternity. See all articles by Roger G Clarke Roger G Clarke. And any organization that threatens to take away your exaltation for helping local causes instead of their investment portfolio isn't worth your time, money, or worship. The head of EPA, Roger Clarke, indicated to the Journal that EPA is a "rainy-day account to be used in difficult economic times." Some church leaders suggested the fund could be used in the . Ensign Peak Advisors. Harindra De Silva. If $124 billion in an investment portfolio is not enough, why not share with members what they've accomplished and let them know what the goal is if the church is truly as 'transparent as they know how to be.' And, sadly, as we see with the way leaders shut down critical thinking, demonize those who research it, and hide information from its members, the church will never be good, either. As he grew disillusioned with leadership, the document says he eventually resigned on Aug. 29, 2019, and filed a document to the IRS Whistleblower Office in November of 2019. The church doesnt dispute that payments made to City Creek came from Ensign Peak. Ensign Peak Advisors ( email) 60 East South Temple 4th Floor Salt Lake City, UT 84111 United States. And now that the church has now been caught doing so, their excuse is that it was to "protect them [active members of the church] from mismanaging their own funds with insufficient information?" The church contends this is not illegal and I am not a legal expert, but I can say it looks awful when a church uses a tithing investment fund to bail out its for profit ventures yet has never spent a dime to help those who truly need it. Paying tithing demonstrates obedience and love and helps strengthen our faith in God.". Those organizations will not only help people in need with the money, but they will be transparent about how they spend your money. 323.244.1154. The church contended no actual tithing was ever used and instead came from Ensign Peaks earnings. In 2016, "Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said that each year The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints spends about $40 million on welfare, humanitarian and other LDS Church-sponsored projects around the world and has done so for more than 30 years." EPAs senior managers for years have regularly permitted large assets to simply disappear from EPAs books and have failed to apply basic internal controls to themselves.. Along with the quarterly SEC filings, EPA appears to be more recognizable as an institutional investor in public companies now. Manage Products and Account Information. That strategy, Clarke said, was designed to prevent members from parroting what Ensign was doing and to, as the paper stated, protect them from mismanaging their own funds with insufficient information., Church officials described the fund as a rainy-day account and to help fund operations in poorer parts of the world such as Africa, where the faith is booming where member donations cant keep up.". Harindra De Silva. Overview. Back to the article: Church leaders may be right to worry that the financial revelations could have a negative impact on tithe paying. The filings do not include all the churchs financial holdings, such as bonds, and the church isnt required to disclose its holdings in property or private companies. Why wouldn't more members want to be like Carolyn and donate their money to local causes that will actually use the money to help others? And those companies might consider it an honor when a morally and financially scrutinizing investor such as EPA buys shares. 212.744.6825, Research Coordinator Ensign Peak's investing strategy turns the $100 into $150 (Ensign Peak pays no tax on the gain because its passive . Penske Automotive Group, for example, released its quarterly earnings on Nov. 21, 2020, andnoted in its press release that, among institutional and hedge fund investors, Ensign Peak Advisors increased its stake in Penske by 2,651% and now owns 181,578 shares of Penskes stock, valued at $7 million. "Ensign Peak adjusted its approach and began filing a single aggregated report. That might seem flippant to those who are active members, but the bottom line is that the survey referenced is making the point that the more entrenched in the church you are, the less transparent you want them to be. Locations . The Mormon church created a system of more than a dozen shell companies to make their investments harder to track? No organization that truly exists to help every child of God would create over a dozen shell companies to make sure the world can never find out what they have, and no organization that tells you that you will be eternally separated from your family unless you keep giving 10% to them is worth your devotion. Ensign Peak Advisors Jan 1995 - May 2020 25 years 5 months . EPAs change in approach is an admission by conduct that its more than 260 fraudulent SEC filings were improper and were acts in furtherance of a Klein conspiracy to defraud the IRS, by concealing its massive securities investment business, the document reads. About $3 billion of that came from combined shares of Apple and Microsoft, accounting for 7% of the funds total value. The final section of the article: Clarke also told The Journal he was misunderstood by Nielsen, who asserted that Clarke had said the church had mustered the money for Christs Second Coming. Ensign Peak Advisors, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints multibillion-dollar investment fund, has gone from operating nearly incognito 19 months ago to facing an uncomfortably hot spotlight. Clarke told the Journal, We dont have any idea whether financial assets will have any value at all during a second coming. Roger G. Clarke Court documents submitted in California by the churchs attorneys say the fund has been around since 1997, seeded initially by excess tithing funds to create a rainy day account. Harindra de Silva. There are many reasons that the church is losing more members today than they have since Kirtland according to church historian Elder Marlin K. Jensen, but one of the biggest is that even in the year 2020 and in the age of Google, they still refuse to be honest and open with their members. Ensign Peak Advisors ( email) 60 East South Temple 4th Floor Salt Lake City, UT 84111 United States. See all articles by Roger G Clarke Roger G Clarke. As we've pointed out in countless pages on this site and others, the church will never be true. Deceptive statements: Nielsens document states that EPA was deceptive in describing its assets to regulators even after the stories broke in 2019 and the firm came under national scrutiny. In the document, he estimates that his former employer has evaded payments of more than $20 billion in taxes and concealed foreign accounts that should total $2 billion in penalties. SEC filings and online finance sites show that EPA still has large stock ownership positions totaling billions of dollars in major companies such as Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc. A prominent former Latter-day Saint, James Huntsman, filed a federal lawsuit against the church, seeking to regain more than $5 million in tithing he gave the church over 25 years. Ensign Peak Advisers, the non-profit that oversees the Church's portfolio, failed to comply with the regulator's disclosure rules by filing forms for shell companies that "obscured" the Church's investments, according to the SEC on Tuesday. Lawrence Harris That was in keeping, they said, with then-church President Gordon B. Hinckleys declaration that the faith had a compelling responsibility to protect the environment of the Salt Lake Temple and that it was imperative to do something to revitalize this area.. The issue is what happens before that. For at least 22 years, EPA and certain senior executives have perpetrated an unlawful scheme that relies on willfully and materially false statements to the IRS and the SEC, so this for-profit, securities investment business that unfairly competes with large hedge funds can masquerade as a tax-exempt, charitable organization, the memorandum says. Roger Clarke, who leads Ensign Peak, has said that part of the reason the Church sought to conceal its wealth was to ensure continued tithing by believers. In 2003, the lawyers assert, the church earmarked money for City Creek from Ensign Peaks investment gains. It has shifted since mid-2020 into stocks in basic industries and capital goods that might expect to take off in an economic recovery. And do not forget that Prophet Joseph F Smith said this about tithing at the 1907 General Conference: "Furthermore, I want to say to you, we may not be able to reach it right away, but we expect to see the day when we will not have to ask you for one dollar of donation for any purpose, except that which you volunteer to give of your own accord, because we will have tithes sufficient in the storehouse of the Lord to pay everything that is needful for the advancement of the kingdom of God." Given the popularity of factor investing, also known as rules-based, smart beta, or simply quantitative portfolio management, a number of students and traditional equity analysts have asked for a primer to introduce basic terms, concepts, and calculation procedures. Church officials said the global faith, as a whole, gives about $1 billion a year to humanitarian causes and charities.". In it, Clarke affirms the veracity of all business records submitted on Ensign Peaks role in the case, including its payments to City Creek Reserve. In recent years, the churchs reserve fund has grown by about 7% annually, Clarke told The Journal, mainly from returns on existing investments, not member donations.". Asia Pacific +65 6212 1000. If you're reading this post, you have almost certainly heard of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holding an investment fund worth around $124 billion dollars called Ensign Peak in recent weeks. For example, in one instance where we do have some transparency: The financial records destroy Huntsmans fraud claim, its lawyers argued in Aug. 31 court filings. (Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake Tribune). That suggests a remarkable level of trust in church leadership, Sam Brunson, a professor of tax law at Loyola University in Chicago, told The Tribune, not just on spiritual/religious matters but also on more mundane secular matters.. Ensign Peak held $349,000 in shares in Beyond Meat, maker of plant-based meat substitutes, at the end of 2019, but that was down to $5,000 in June, making it the smallest holding in the portfolio. Ensign Peak Advisors employs 11 employees. The church responded that Nielsens assertions amounted to hearsay and supplied its own sworn statement from Clarke, who was president and managing director over Ensign Peak from its 1997 founding until he retired in May 2020. 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